Creative communication skills training for scientists and researchers
Want to engage with policy makers and the media, get your message across at a science communication event, or simply engage in more outreach? You’ll definitely need to be able to talk about your science, and you may well need some practical “creative communication” skills, too.
Our creative communication toolbox offers training and workshops designed to help you understand the science of science communication, learn strategies to engage your audience in dialogue that will educate and shift thinking and behaviour, and build practical skills to help you share your work beyond the borders of the academic community.
Popular training programmes & workshops
Key Messaging Workshop
Whether you want to inform, educate, motivate or persuade, knowing your audience and getting your message right are critical. That's what we focus on in this workshop.
Social Media for Researchers
Does your heart sink when you hear "social media"? Or do your eyes light up? Either way, we can help you learn all you need to know to use social media to share your research effectively.
Website training
Do you want to create a website or blog for your research group or yourself to talk about your research? Have you been given the task of keeping an existing WordPress website up-to-date? This is the workshop for you.
Podcasting for science communication
Podcasts are immensely popular and they are a great way to get your science communication message into the ears (and minds!) of your audience. Learn how to create and run your own podcast in this workshop.
Storytelling and narrative skills
Stories and narrative are the secret sauce of creating engaging science and research communication that connects with non-expert audiences. Learn how to harness the power of this age-old (and still relevant) technique.
Infographics and Visual Communication
Learn how to communicate complex information quick and powerfully by creating visual communication tools that are clear, memorable, and perhaps even motivating.
The Science of Science Communication
Science communication isn't the same as "marketing for science". In this bite-sized learning session, we'll take a look at the science behind science communication: what is science communication, what challenges do we face, and how can we tackle them.
Working with the Media
The media is a wonderful resource if you want your message to reach a wider audience. Our training can help you understand how to make the most of media interactions.
SciComm Toolbox for Students
Equip MA and PhD students with a selection of science and research communication skills that they can use to share their, and their groups', research. Choose from short workshops or semester-long programmes.
Other training themes to help you develop your science communication and outreach skills
Looking for something a little bit different? We regularly create custom workshops and training programmes that vary from short webinars and half-day immersive sessions to multi-day and multi-month programmes designed to give participants the opportunity to embed skills.
Take a look at the many different topics that we can weave into science communication and research outreach training, and then let’s chat about how we can craft something special to meet your needs.
- Multi-media skills (podcasting, video, and more)
- “Gamifying” your message
- Running online meetings
- Facilitating groups
- Public speaking skills
- Crafting elevator pitches
- Having difficult conversations (about science, climate, health)
- Workshop design and delivery skills
- And more!
We love to share what we know in all sorts of different formats!
Our workshops and training programmes can be tailored to your needs and offered online as short talks for conferences, as webinars for large groups, as bite-sized sessions that span several days, and as lecture sessions that span weeks, months or semesters. Most of our work takes place virtually via Zoom and similar tools (ask us why), but if you’re within easy travel distance from our offices in Innsbruck, Austria, we’re also more than happy to hope on a bus or train to deliver on-site programmes too!
It's been a long time since I have enjoyed a training workshop as much as I did this one! Suzanne took a lot of time to get to know each of our group during the training, quickly spotting where our strengths lay and helping us develop skills in new areas. She struck a good balance between theory and discussion, and I particularly appreciated the time she gave us for group work and time to try out new skills alone. She was full of energy and positivity, and made me feel welcome and valued throughout, even when she put me on the spot in role plays. Highly recommended!
It was useful to think more strategically about elevator pitches and how I could create something generic for "everyday" use as well as something tailored for different situations like meetings. The opportunity to plan and share elevator pitches was good, as it gave me an idea of other styles and approaches. The detailed individual feedback was unexpected, but great.
I have just completed SciComm Success' Poster Design Workshop. It was full of interesting tips and tools, some of which I have already built into my poster planning. Although we had a big group and I expected a lecture/webinar format, Suzanne constantly invited us to provide feedback and our own experiences, and I enjoyed hearing what fellow biologists like and don't. I liked that the group was international and enjoyed the flexible and informal discussions - some via chat, some using whiteboards, some simple audio discussion. It felt as if we could all contribute, wherever we were. I would recommend this workshop for anyone new to creating posters for conferences. It would probably be a good refresher for poster presenters, too. Thank you, SEB, for the opportunity.
This was a fascinating workshop! I learned so much about how I come across and how powerful it is to become more conscious about how I "show up", so that I can make the right impression. Loved the tips about reading other people's non-verbal cues, too. This has made me think twice about the best time to approach people with difficult subject. Thank you, Suzanne, for an inspiring morning!
Loved this. So much information and still time for some good discussions with fellow students. I look forward to being able to use some of the ideas when I create my first poster.
This was a good refresher on best practice planning and design for posters. I particularly enjoyed the sessions on tools for choosing colour palettes, which I have since used in other communication materials, and the discussion about online and virtual conferences, which was an eye-opener for me during COVID. Thank you, Suzanne!
This workshop was great fun. I learned loads about perspective and how I tend to communicate, and hope to be able to use this knowledge to communicate better with our international students.